Prolonged bed care frame

ABSTRACT

A bed frame for prolonged care of invalids, which frame is constructed to relieve pressures on certain parts of the body to support the lumbar region and maintain alignment of the spinal column and legs and to allow air circulation to reduce or prevent ulcers. A pair of side frame members are curved vertically to conform to the shape of the back of the invalid. A pad of canvas and sheepskin is stretched between said members by lateral adjusting rods for adjusting the distance between the side frame members. Portions of the pad are cut-out to provide ventilation and reduce the chance of ulcers and patient discomfort.

. [4 1 June 27, 1972 2,544,977 3/1951 2,532,837 12/1950 De FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 111,235 10/1925 Switzerland.................................5/82

Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney-William J. Rauno 71 ABSTRACT A bed frame for prolonged care of invalids, which frame is constructed to relieve pressures on certain parts of the body to support the lumbar region and maintain alignment of the spinal column and legs and to allow air circulation to reduce or prevent ulcers.

A pair of side frame members are curved vertically toconform 82,5/114 .............A61g7/10,A61g H00 [58] Field ofSearch..................5/60, 82, 338, 347,110-114;

Relerences Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS Doris Y. Bertolet, RD. #1, Oley, Pa. I 19547 Aug. 21, 1970 21 Appl.No.: 65,887

[54] PROLONGED BED CARE FRAME {72] Inventor:

[22] Filed:

to the shape of the back of the invalid. A pad of canvas and sheepskin is stretched between said members by lateral adjustingrods for adjusting the distance between the side frame members. Portions of the pad are cut-out to provide ventilation and reduce the chance of ulcers and patient discomfort.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures "t" mmmm m n mmmmmmm ilk e e BSRSLPG 364548 53544.66 9 999999 HHHH flfl8622 11 7657583 73 067 ,J. 4354987 404575 2 22233 PATENTEDJUHN m2 INVENTOR DORIS Y. BERTOLET PROLONGED BED CARE FRAME This invention relates to a bed frame for prolonged care of invalids and, more particularly, it relates to the construction of such bed frame to provide optimum comfort, proper support and ventilation of certain critical areas of the back of the body.

An outstanding disadvantage of bed frames for invalids as used in the past has been that the frames were of cumbersome, complicated and expensive construction and still were relatively inflexible in adjustment and unable to solve certain problems resulting from prolonged lying in bed, such as ulcers etc.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel bed frame which is devoid of the abovenamed disadvantages and which is of relatively simple and inexpensive construction and which is so shaped as to provide maximum comfort for invalids requiring prolonged care. I

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel bed frame which is suitably curved in a vertical direction to comform to the shape of the back and which is suitably adjustable laterally for providing desired tension on the bed pad or canvas,--also which is suitably cut-out to provide air circulation and other provisions for maximum comfort.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a study of the following description taken, with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the bed frame embodying the principles of the present invention;

H6. 2 is a side view thereof; and,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, transverse, cross-sectional view of a portion of the bed frame.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, numeral 1 generally denotes a bed frame for prolonged care of an invalid wherein the top portion is at the left and bottom portion is at the right, as viewed in FIG. 1. The frame comprises two side frame members 2, preferably of metal tubing, such as aluminurn tubing, having end portions 3 bent inwardly to form base supports or legs of the bed. Spaced slits 4 are provided through the tubing 2 through which straps 5 may be passed as illustrated more clearly in FIG. 3, the ends of which straps are bent back through a surgical buckle formed on the underside of elements 6. The straps 5 may be of woven cloth, leather, plastic or other suitable flexible material. The straps 5 are sewn or otherwise attached to the underside of the pad, generally denoted by numeral 7.

The pad comprises a bottom sheet of canvas 8 an intermediate plastic sheet 9 and a top sheet of sheepskin 10. The marginal areas of the pad 7 may be reinforced by providing a shortened edge of plastic sheet 9 to provide a space between canvas 8 and sheepskin 10, which space may be filled by a fabric having outer adhesive layers which may be attached to the underside of sheepskin l0 and the top side of canvas 8. Or perhaps the sheepskin l0 and canvas 8 may be sewed together along their marginal portions, either with or without an intermediate plastic layer 9 therebetween.

A pair of laterally extending adjusting rods 11 are provided, preferably of aluminum tubing, having a plurality of spaced holes 12 extending therethrough and through which bolts 14 may be selectively inserted for adjusting the distance between the side frame members 2 and thus the tension on the pad 7. Wing nuts are provided at the ends of the bolts for fastening the bolts in their selected positions.

The side frame members 2 are curved vertically in the manner shown in FIG. 2 whereby the left portion supports the shoulder, the intermediate downwardly bent portion at the left supports the lumbar region, and the downwardly dipped portion at the right supports the buttocks, and the extreme right end portion supports the legs in a manner so as to provide a slight fiexion of knees.

Cut-out portions 15, indicated in dotted outline, may be rovided if desired to provide air circulation to heal or reduce the occurrence of ulcers. For such cut-out portions, the plastic sheet 9 is cut-out through a greater area than the perimeters of shee skin 10 and canvas 8, whereby the edges may be provlde with penmetrically extending, intermediate adhesive strips of cloth for reinforcing the perimeters of the cut-out portions. Alternatively, canvas 8 and sheepskin 10 may be sewed together either with or without an intermediate plastic strip 9 along the perimeter of the cut-outs 15. A slit 16 or cutout area may be provided for urinal purposes.

By virtue of the above construction of the bed frame, there is relieved pressure on the coccyx, vertalera and pelvic areas and there is provided support of the lumbar region as well as support for maintaining alignment of the spinal column and legs.

When it is desired to turn the patient from side to side, the only adjustment necessary is to simply release all the buckles on one side and then fasten them again, and similarly to do likewise on the other side for a change of sides.

The frame is as safe as possible taking into consideration the strength and inhibitions of all patients, whether retarded or senile.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a highly efficient bed frame for prolonged care of invalids, which frame is made of light, inexpensive and simple parts which may be easily assembled and adjusted and wherein provision is made on the canvas and sheepskin pads for cutting out areas in a manner so as to provide maximum comfort and relief, or minimizing the chances of development, of ulcers and other discomforting ailments; furthermore, l have provided a bed frame which has side frame members which can be easily adjusted, for selective spacing therebetween, by simple adjusting means and which may be unbuckled on one side to assist in turning the patient over; furthermore, l have provided a bed frame which is very inexpensive to construct and which may be readily assembled or disassembled and transported.

I claim:

1. A bed frame comprising a pair of side frame members of metal tubing which are curved in a vertical direction to conform to certain back portions and which have reversely bent end portions extending horizontally toward each other in confronting relationship to provide base supports or legs thereof, a pair of transversely extending adjusting rods for adjustably supporting said side frames at selective distances apart, said adjusting rods having end portions provided with a plurality of spaced holes through which bolts extending through said side members may be selectively inserted for adjusting the spacing between said side frame members, a flexible bed pad comprising outer layers of canvas and an intermediate layer of plastic material, said pad having cut-out portions for providing air circulation to back portions of the body, said pad having straps attached thereto in spaced relationship along the sides thereof, the ends of which straps are secured to longitudinally spaced portions of said side frame members by extending through diametrically disposed slots therein and by having buckles intermediate said side frame members and pad for fastening the end portions of said straps for adjusting the length of each of said straps and the tension of said pad at longitudinally spaced portions.

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1. A bed frame comprising a pair of side frame members of metal tubing which are curved in a vertical direction to conform to certain back portions and which have reversely bent end portions extending horizontally toward each other in confronting relationship to provide base supports or legs thereof, a pair of transversely extending adjusting rods for adjustably supporting said side frames at selective distances apart, said adjusting rods having end portions provided with a plurality of spaced holes through which bolts extending through said side members may be selectively inserted for adjusting the spacing between said side frame members, a flexible bed pad comprising outer layers of canvas and an intermediate layer of plastic material, said pad having cUt-out portions for providing air circulation to back portions of the body, said pad having straps attached thereto in spaced relationship along the sides thereof, the ends of which straps are secured to longitudinally spaced portions of said side frame members by extending through diametrically disposed slots therein and by having buckles intermediate said side frame members and pad for fastening the end portions of said straps for adjusting the length of each of said straps and the tension of said pad at longitudinally spaced portions. 